Goya’s ‘Pinturas negras’

Goya, Self-portrait, Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, Madrid, Wikimedia Commons

Spanish romantic painter and printmaker Francisco de Goya (1746-1828) is known as the last of “the old masters” (a painter of skill operating in Europe prior to 1800) and the first of “the moderns”.

An intensely private man, he was deafened by a severe illness in 1793, after which his work became particularly pessimistic. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) and widespread social and political corruption in Spain further embittered his attitude towards life and humankind. In 1819, he purchased a house coincidentally named ‘Quinta del Sordo’ or ‘Villa of the Deaf’ where, living in isolation, he produced his ‘Pinturas negras’ or ‘Black Paintings’ – originally a set of 14 murals depicting his disillusioned and bleak outlook. Never intended for public viewing, the paintings have been transferred to canvas and are now held at the Prado in Madrid. (Arthur Lubow, “The Secret of the Black Paintings”, NY Times Magazine, 2003).

1. Saturn Devouring his Son, Wikimedia Commons [From the Greek myth of the Titan Cronus – Romanised as Saturn – who, fearing that one of his children would overthrow him, swallowed each upon birth.]2. The Dog, Wikimedia Commons

7. Leocadia, Wikimedia Commons [Leocadia was Goya’s maid and perhaps lover too]8. Atropos/The Fates, Wikimedia Commons [From Greek mythology. The Fates are incarnations of Destiny. Atropos cuts the thread of life – she is here with a pair of scissors. Clotho, who spins the thread of new life, is seen here with a newborn child in place of her usual distaff. And Lachesis, the spinning one who is responsible for measuring the length of the fibre, here looks into a mirror or lens and symbolises time. The fourth captive-like figure in the foreground is quite possibly a man whose destiny is being decided by the three Fates.]

9. Fight with Cudgels, Wikimedia Commons

10. Two Old Men Eating Soup, Wikimedia Commons

11. Fantastic Vision, Wikimedia Commons

12. Procession of the Holy Office, Wikimedia Commons

13. Witches’ Sabbath, Wikimedia Commons

14. A Pilgrimage to San Isidro, Wikimedia Commons

Heads in a Landscape, Wikimedia Commons. Now in a private collection in New York , might be the fifteenth Black Painting.

The Positions of the Black Paintings in the Villa of the Deaf by User “I, Chabacano”, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Published by Tulika B.

Cosmopolitan soul and King's College London alum (Twitter: @TulikaBahadur89) - slowly working on a novel and a collection of short stories (tulikabahadur@gmail.com: email for reviews and interviews). Follow "On Art and Aesthetics" on Facebook (@onartandaesthetics) and Twitter (@OnArtAes). View all posts by Tulika B.